Welcome to the best things to do in Salt Lake City, Utah!
With fascinating history, incredible outdoors, and a vibrant foodie scene, there’s so much to do in SLC.
On today’s post, I’m helping you plan the perfect visit with the best things to do.
Let’s dive in.
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Salt Lake City Essentials
Top Experiences & Tours In Salt Lake City
- Trolley Adventure: A Show-Tour of Salt Lake City
- Great Salt Lake Wildlife and Sunset Experience
- 45 Minute Great Salt Lake Boat Tour
Where To Stay In Salt Lake City
1. Explore Temple Square
Temple Square is a 35-acre complex, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It houses beautiful landscaping, architecture, history, and more.
It’s in the center of the city, and one of the most famous things to do in Salt Lake City.
Some of the most interesting things to see here are the Temple, Tabernacle, and the Temple Square Gardens.
If you visit in the spring, this is a wonderful place to see the cherry blossoms and tulips in bloom.
Visit around the holidays, and you’ll be treated to tons of twinkling lights and festive nativity scenes.
2. Visit Red Butte Garden
Red Butte Garden is the botanical garden at University of Utah, and the perfect place to take a relaxing stroll.
At over 100 acres total, it’s the largest botanical garden in the Intermountain West.
The spring and summer are the best times to visit, to see all the flowers in full bloom.
3. Watch sunset from The Living Room
For some of the best views of downtown Salt Lake, head to The Living Room.
What is that, you might ask?
The Living Room is a unique viewpoint, perched in the foothills of Salt Lake.
Its name comes from the set of rocks here that have been arranged into Flintstone-style sofas.
You can reach The Living Room with a relatively short but steep hike, that starts near the Red Butte Garden.
This is the perfect way to end the evening with an outdoors workout, rewarded with a beautiful sunset.
4. Discover the local foodie scene
Salt Lake City has a booming culinary and craft beer scene, which you should definitely dive into!
Try famous biscuits and fresh limeade from Sweet Lake Biscuits & Limeade, and chicken and waffles from Bruges Waffle & Frites.
Make sure to stop by the retro Blue Plate Diner, featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
Although Utah may not be your first thought when it comes to Mexican food, Red Iguana consistently wins awards for their authentic Mexican moles.
They’re so popular, they’ve even opened a second location, Red Iguana 2, just a few blocks away!
When it comes to beer, you could walk in any direction and find a great local brewery.
Wasatch Brew Pub is a brewery that’s been a local staple for over 30 years.
Head there for awesome beer, as well as a fresh food and cocktail menu.
5. Visit Antelope Island
Of course, you can’t visit Salt Lake City without seeing the famous Salt Lake.
The lake has such a high salt content, it’s even saltier than the ocean.
That means you’ll easily float!
Antelope Island is one of the best places to visit on Salt Lake.
It’s the lake’s largest island, housing Antelope Island State Park.
Here, you can hike, and enjoy the beaches and mountain views.
Free-ranging bison, antelope, and other wildlife also call the island home.
Unfortunately, during the warmer months the biting gnats can be pretty gnarly here.
Bug repellant is ineffective against these particular bugs, so be prepared to buy or bring a fine-mesh head net.
Or, consider heading elsewhere if you’re visiting during the summer.
6. Explore Big Cottonwood Canyon
Just a quick 25 minutes away from Salt Lake International Airport, Big Cottonwood Canyon offers outdoors activities galore.
Hike the popular Donut Falls or Silver Lake trails, or just enjoy a scenic drive and picnic.
7. Explore Park City
Park City is one of Utah’s premier skiing destinations, just a 40 minute drive from downtown Salt Lake.
It’s known for its high-end resorts, fantastic outdoors scene, and charming Historic Main Street.
In the winter, you can enjoy skiing, snowboarding, and tubing.
In the warmer months, there are almost 400 miles of hiking and biking trails to explore.
You can also take the scenic chairlift, which is awesome for leaf-peeping in the fall.
Every year, Park City is home to the Sundance Film Festival, hosted at the legendary Sundance Resort.
Related: 20 Most Amazing Things To Do In Utah
8. Visit a museum
For a fun day indoors in Salt Lake City, head to one of the best museums.
The Natural History Museum of Utah holds fantastic interactive exhibits spanning flora, fauna, astronomy, and more.
Utah is also one of the world’s richest dinosaur fossil areas, so the museum’s impressive collections make it a must-stop.
Not only that, the building itself is an architectural masterpiece!
If art is more your style, check out the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art.
You’re sure to enjoy the groundbreaking artwork by local, national, and international artists.
9. Admire the Bonneville Salt Flats
This next location looks like it belongs on a different planet.
The Bonneville Salt Flats are a 46-square mile stretch of blinding-white crust.
Although this is a 1.5 hour drive from Salt Lake City, if you have enough time to visit, I’d put it high on your list!
The flats are the remnants of ancient Lake Bonneville, which left behind the salt when it dried up.
Facing north and west, low mountains break the horizon.
To the east and south, it looks like flat land extends forever!
During the winter and spring, a layer of water collects over the flats and creates a surreal, reflective effect.
One of the best spots to view the Salt Flats is along I-80, about 10 miles east of Wendover.
If you navigate to Salt Flats Rest Area, you’ll find a convenient rest stop that offers restrooms and water.
Make sure to only drive on areas meant for vehicles, as you can easily get stuck in the mud hiding beneath layers of salt.
Related: 20 Most Amazing Things To Do In Utah
10. Relax in Liberty Park
Liberty Park is a little slice of nature in the middle of urban Salt Lake.
This spacious park has walking and running paths, a swimming pool, playground, tennis courts, a pond with paddle boats, and more.
It even houses the Tracy Aviary, which provides up-close experiences with unique birds.
Liberty Park is the perfect place to spend a morning or evening with the family.
11. Take a trolley tour
Salt Lake Trolley Tours offers one of the most entertaining ways to sightsee in Salt Lake.
Your “show-tour,” led by a theatrical crew, takes place in a historic trolley.
These are super cute and Instagrammable, of course!
The 90 minute tour includes stops at the State Capitol, Temple Square, historic mansions, and other landmarks.
This is one of the best ways to explore Salt Lake with families, keeping kids easily entertained.
Click here to check availability on Viator.
12. Browse Salt Lake City Farmers Market
If you find yourself in Salt Lake on a Thursday or Saturday, head to the Downtown Farmers Market.
This is where you can support local businesses and artisans selling food, drinks, arts and crafts, gifts, and more.
This is an awesome place to pick up some local souvenirs, peruse the food trucks, and enjoy all of the friendly neighborhood dogs!
Find Salt Lake City Farmers Market’s most up-to-date hours and information on their website.
13. Soak in Fifth Water Hot Springs
This is another spot that’s not really IN Salt Lake, but I’ve included it because it’s so unique!
Just over an hour south of Salt Lake, you’ll find one of Utah’s best natural hot springs.
Fifth Water Hot Springs is a collection of gorgeous soaking hot pots and waterfalls along Fifth Water Creek.
The hike to this serene location is an easy, 4.5-mile roundtrip, with beautiful scenery along the way.
This spot is popular, so visit early in the morning or on a weekday for less crowds.
You also may stumble across people enjoying these hot springs in the nude, lol!
Related: 20 Most Amazing Things To Do In Utah
14. Explore 9th and 9th
Just off Downtown, you’ll find yourself in the trendy 9th and 9th district.
Full of local coffee shops, boutiques, and yoga studios, this neighborhood is the epicenter of cool in Salt Lake.
Just a few blocks away, visit Trolley Square, an upscale shopping area renovated in a 1900’s trolley barn.
15. Drive Mirror Lake Highway
One of the best day trips from Salt Lake City is the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway.
It begins in the town of Kamas, just 45 minutes away, and stretches 42 miles along state Route 150.
The drive ascends high into the Uinta Mountains, cresting at 10,715 feet at Bald Mountain Pass.
From there, it descends past several more peaks until it reaches the Wyoming border.
Along the way, there are lots of overlooks, trails, lakes, and waterfalls to enjoy.
Make sure to stop at the route’s namesake, Mirror Lake, known for its near-perfection reflection.
Keep in mind that this road closes during the winter due to heavy snow.
So you’ll want to take this road trip during the summer, or fall for leaf-peeping.
Fun fact: the Uinta Mountains are unique for being the only mountain range in the continuous United States that runs east-west, as opposed to north-south.
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